The State Duma deputies do not want to relocate beyond the Moscow Ring Road

July 03, 2012, 13:17 UTC+3The Kremlin noted that this is not a demarche, but “the working process”

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MOSCOW, July 3 (Itar-Tass) - During the parliamentary hearings in the State Duma on Monday the deputies were discussing where it will be better to build a parliamentary centre. The deputies are to move there in four years. It turned out that that the leaders of three State Duma factions, including United Russia, oppose the relocation of the parliament beyond the Moscow Ring Road. The Kremlin noted that this is not a demarche, but “the working process”.

Head of the special parliamentary committee for the construction of the Parliamentary Centre Vladimir Resin noted that the construction should be completed for four years, the Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily reported. Although, there are no concrete projects, all contests and symposiums will be held in the future, he said. International authoritative architectural experts will be invited for them. Resin warned that the external shape of the Parliamentary Centre should be most probably traditional. He notified the lawmakers that the construction sites were selected. The best site, according to the committee and experts, is a site five kilometres away from the Moscow Ring Road on Kaluzhskoye Highway. Since the transport problems (even the metro will be built in the future) and the problems with engineering communications are being solved and will be solved at this place.

The deputies take the relocation beyond the Moscow Ring Road in the critical way, the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily reported. Coordinator of the Communist faction Sergei Reshulsky stated that he “opposes strongly that the parliament will be moved to the outskirts,” and this is not why he does not want to go there himself, but because the parliament should be the most accessible body of power for any citizen. Leader of the United Russia faction Andrei Vorobyev suggested raising the question about a construction site for the Parliamentary Centre at a next meeting between the deputies and the president. Only LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky supported the idea to move beyond the Moscow Ring Road. Since the president and the prime minister live at the countryside residences just for ecological reasons, and “why two people can breath, but 450 cannot do it?”

The Kremlin does not see any threat that the leaders of the three factions, including United Russia, doubt that the parliament should relocate beyond the Moscow Ring Road, the Kommersant daily noted. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov explained, “The instructions were given to make proposals before July 9. Now the working process is underway. No points of view can be ruled out at the stage of debates.” He noted that all proposals from the parliament and other state agencies will be discussed with Vladimir Putin.

A source in the government that the Vedomosti daily cited said that the authorities do not give up an idea to build a building on Kutuzovsky Avenue on about six hectares in front of Poklonnaya Hill. An official in the presidential administration confirmed that both variants are still considered.

Russia witnesses a high level of consolidation of the elites against this bill, political expert from United Russia Dmitry Orlov stated, noting that the combination of three factors to promote the bill: the confirmation of the will of the Russian political leadership, the coming of a driver, which will organize the project and the allocation of funds for it (budgetary funds or according to the scheme of private-state partnership).